V. I. Lenin

Record of Speeches at the Geneva Bolshevik Club{1}

MINUTES OF MARCH 5, 1905

Published:First published in 1934 inLenin Miscellany XXVI.

      Printed from the minutes.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,1977,

      Moscow,Volume 41,

      pages139.2-141.1.Translated:Yuri SdobnikovTranscription\Markup:R. CymbalaCopyleft:V. I. Lenin Internet Archive (www.marxists.org)
      © 2004

      Permission is granted to copy and/or distribute this document under the
      terms of theGNU Free Documentation License.

Le n i n.

Proposes that all the results of the section’s work should be
made public—above all that Stepanov should submit his report in writing,
and also the minutes. A general summary of these minutes should be handed over
to the Congress; they could provide many practical indications during the work
of the Congress. Stepanov’s report is regrettably much too abstract in
character. If exact conclusions in the form of resolutions are to be made from
the reports, they must be more concrete. With that end in view I propose a poll
among comrades in Russiaand abroad, specifying that they should give precise answers to the
questions stated (yes, no, so many). A picture of their work, e.g., the
town in which one worked, the questions one decided at meetings, etc. While
the summarised conclusions could yield something, I repeat that no precise
conclusions could be drawn from them. That is why I propose that the circle
should set about working out a questionnaire to be circulated among
comrades in Russia and abroad, for concise replies to all questions. If we
have at our disposal raw material of this kind (if 100–200 comrades
reply), the Congress could use it for precise conclusions.

Ireiterate my proposals: first, a summary of all the minutes and also
the minutes themselves should be submitted to the Congress; second, a start
should be made on drawing up a questionnaire. This should be done right
away, without any delay, and I propose that all work in the section should
be dropped in favour of putting the minutes in order and writing a report
on them for the Congress.

Le n i n.

Now that the announcement of the convocation of the Third Congress is out,
the work of the sections has taken on a different character. The sections
have now been working for two months, but very little has been done, all
things considered: the minutes are not all there, and there are no reports;
we should make haste with this, so that all these efforts should be of
practical importance and not go to waste, i.e., all this should be placed
before the Congress. In order to submit the minutes as soon as possible, I
propose that the whole circle should set about helping the secretaries. I
repeat that unless the circle completes this work, all its efforts threaten
to remain within the circle itself, whereas they could help to work out
organisational plans. Furthermore, I propose that we should start right
away on working out a questionnaire—we must make haste with all this,
time does not wait. The Congress may take place very soon. The best thing
is to entrust the working out of a questionnaire to a special committee.

Le n i n.

I have no objections to Comrade Olga’s proposal. As for my experience, I do
not believe I have any, in view of the rapid change of events and
conditions of work. I did draw up a questionnaire, but it was much too
general. I propose that experienced comrades should be elected to a
committee for drawing up the questionnaire, and that this business should
be accelerated to the utmost.

{1}The Geneva Party Majority Clubwas formed at a conference of
R.S.D.L.P. promotion groups abroad on January 13, 1905, and had four
sections for elaborating questions of Party life: 1) organisation, 2)
propaganda, 3) agitation, and 4) technical matters.

Asitting of the organisation section on March 5, 1905, discussed a
report by A. M. Essen (Stepanov) on how to organise work mainly among the
non-proletarian sections of the population (students, soldiers and
peasants). Lenin spoke thrice: first, after the report, then after a speech
by Robert (unidentified), and again in connection with a speech by Olga
(S. N. Ravich), who proposed that Lenin should be invited to take part in
drawing up a “questionnaire in view of his wide experience of practical
work in Russia.

WhenLenin says: “I did draw up a questionnaire, but it was much too
general”, he means his “Questionnaire”

(see present edition, Vol. 5, pp. 200–01).

p. 139